"A household residing in north London wants to find an exceptional and skilled educator to guide their smallest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily overlook the wording "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
But, it could be the crucial part of this unique employment listing, as it attempts to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of applications have now been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained attention throughout the press, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, said that in spite of early scepticism, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the atypical nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the British traits they wish to instil.
He said the tutor must be someone who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed the expert the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or passion in riding, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", might the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who have similar reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and practicing both cultures. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, seems to me naive and impractical," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly English tutor from infancy will does not instantly create the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
